Wednesday, 2 November 2011

ok, a few things to catch up with tonight, sent over the past few days.

Copia is proud to announce a unique interactive free edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula, featuring more than 200 notes by leading Dracula experts Dr. Anne DeLong and Dr. Curt Herr. Packed with easy-to-access notes that touch on everything from Twilight to Victorian sexuality, True Blood to Transylvanian folklore, and eroticism to European history, this Dracula is a must read for vampire fans and fiction fans, alike.

So join Professors Delong and Herr, the co-editors of The Journal of Dracula Studies, and get a "coffin-side seat" to the most influential horror story in history. The download is here.

Next, I received news of a new graphic novel, featuring Robin Hood, Dracula and Jekyll&Hyde.

DRACULA, ROBIN HOOD AND JEKYLL & HYDE SET TO DO BATTLE

CLASSIC CHARACTERS CLASH IN COMIC BOOK

Publisher Mohawk Media has today released the first issue of its digital comic book series, Dracula vs. Robin Hood vs. Jekyll & Hyde.

Bunting says: “I’ve already written a few famous faces, but this is something extra special: bringing a number of world-famous characters together for the ultimate showdown.

“My other goal was to redress the mistreatment these characters have so often received. Robin Hood isn’t portrayed here as the gallant hero he obviously never was, and Dracula is closer in tone to the original than perhaps ever before.

“As for Jekyll and Hyde, he was the main inspiration for the Hulk. Because of this, it never felt right that Hulk was always portrayed as bigger and stronger… until now.

“But this isn’t just a horror tale, despite the Halloween launch of issue #1. It’s full of supernatural, sci-fi, superheroics – and good old-fashioned scraps.

“It’s a clash of genres as much as it is a clash of the characters who embody and represent those genres.”

Editor Stuart Buckley adds: “It feels right for a British writer to bring these British-born legends together through a British publisher. The characters’ quintessential ‘Britishness’ won’t be lost in translation as it so often has been in the past.

“As a result, we expect this series to have major global appeal. The first issue is ready to download worldwide now.

“Like many readers, we miss the days when a clash between the likes of Thing and Hulk generated far more interest than publicity stunts which seem to get in the way of solid storytelling, like ‘killing off’ the hero. We hope to bring that kind of excitement back.”

Dracula vs. Robin Hood vs. Jekyll & Hyde will initially be a three issue series available monthly exclusively via the publisher’s groundbreaking line of ECO COMICS, with further instalments of the series to be announced.

It is expected to usher in a “versus” range of titles from the publisher.

Dracula vs. Robin Hood vs. Jekyll & Hyde #1 is a twenty-page issue, and is available to order now in various digital formats via the Eco Comics store: www.mohawkmedia.co.uk/ecocomics for $1.95 (approximately £1.20).